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Monday, August 20, 2012

It's been another busy weekend and I feel that I didn't get much done, but I do have a clean house including a seriously weeded out little girls' room and I did the recycling. I also watched a couple of baseball games and a couple of tennis matches. What I still haven't tackled is my art space. I did sweep yesterday to get the little pieces of rubber that fall while I am carving stamps, but there is a much larger monster in the room. There are piles accumulating all around the room and I need to spend some time putting things away some time soon or I will lose myself in here. I am not sure that is going to happen today. I have a full day planned.

I do have a bit of artiness to share with you. I've begun a new watercolor and so far I'm liking it, but it is at the stage where I don't know for sure what to do next and I am a bit afraid that I am going to mess it up. I must remind myself that this is play and that it is just a piece of paper after all. Here is my first layer, the sky.

And here is the next bit.

I am trying to decide what the foreground is going to look like and so took this into Photoshop to look at a couple of ideas. I didn't spend a lot of time trying to make them look good, I just wanted to get an idea of placement of objects. I'd sure like some suggestions. I can't decide whether to make the foreground trees and grass.

Or perhaps a body of water with some trees around it.

Or maybe I should try to put in the scene from Oyeblikk that I sketched the other day.

At this point I am doing nothing because I can't decide which of these I can actually pull off with any degree of reasonableness. I will let that percolate inside myself for a bit as there is no rush to decide and I really would like to hear from you.

I suppose I could opt to just crop it as it is and call it done with just a bit of color added in the hills.

I have a few stamps to share. I am still finding them difficult to get just right, but I do think I am getting better (read - more patient) at it. Here are my latest:

I love the teacup with the steam above it and the bird. The arrow was made on a bit of scrap and the flower is actually just 1/4 of that image (I think you can see how it didn't line up perfectly. It is a tiny scrap that I didn't want to throw away.

It appears that it is going to be another lovely day today. I will be a tad busy. I am going to my conditioning class this morning and then going over to Nancy's for a bit. I can't wait to see Abby (her dog, which my little girls think I am part owner) and spend some non-exercise time with my dear friend. I would like to find a leotard today - I am going to check with Susan Vaughn's School of Dance in Jackson to see what they have), then I have a Friends of the Library meeting followed by a yoga class. I am not sure whether I will get my art space picked up a bit, but I'm hoping to.

What are you up to today? Does it include some time to do some art? Are you planning to share it with me? I'd love to see it. Do please take the time to weigh in on suggestions for my latest watercolor work in progress. I would sincerely appreciate it.

Love your watercolor ~ I would tend to like the idea of cropping it and adding a bit of color ~ Lovely how you explored and played with the painting ~ My grandmother had a phase that she passed on to me 'When it doubt, do without.' ~ In this case ~ it seems to agree with your decision to wait on your painting ~ Wonderful carving creations ~ enjoy your fun day ~(A Creative Harbor)

ps. day started with yearly blood test (part of yearly physical) so glad to get that done! ~ art will definitely be part of the day ~ need to grocery shop (not favorite task) walking my dog and enjoying the day as past week was quite full ~ enjoy ^_^

Hello Vicki, You have been one busy lady, and maybe you didnt do much art but sure got a lot done (and a lot of steps ahead of me when it comes to clean out a work space...). I love the clouds, and at first when you asked about ideas, I thought about floating islands, would be so different (or maybe Im thinking about something I like to do doddle at times, they just feel free and fun and not fixated to one place... just a thought)... But the hills are neat too, very relaxing.

Thank you for stopping by my blog today, and for teh great new ideas of places to visit next year. I always wanted to go up to Manitoulin island, heard so much about it. Been to Pinery (beautiful, love the beaches)... But I never heard about Tobermory, need to check that out for sure.

Nice work on your watercolour Vicki, I quite like the softness at the bottom of the hills (where you stopped painting) perhaps just a hint of colour at the front using a very light hand to suggest water or fields?

I think it's a good idea to stop and wait for what is supposed to come next in your painting--

Today is all art day! I'm heading out to the studio as soon as I jump in the shower, and I plan on spending most of the day there, at least until the littlest one gets home from school--love these kind of days!

Hello Vicki, I find your post very interesting and more I can see that we have also this passion for stamps in common. I made them and I use them for stamping soaps or postcards or for the wrapping paper. But I didn't think about the creative use in watercolors.And I love your results, very inspiring! Thanks for sharing!

This watercolor beginning is really very nice. Don't be afraid to keep going. Perhaps just keep it simple. You can always do it again if you don't like the results. I am learning that you need to push on even if it means messing up because that is how we learn to be better.